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AFCON Report – Egypt bounce Benin to reach 11th AFCON quarterfinal – 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Marwan Attia of Egypt celebrates goal with teammates during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON match between Egypt and Benin at the Adrar Stadium, Agadir on the 05 January 2026 ©Nabil Ramdani/BackpagePix
Monday Jan 05, 2026. 19:44
Egypt will advance to an 11th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarterfinal after defeating Benin 3-1 in extra time at the Stade Adrar in Agadir on Monday.
Despite a valiant effort, the Cheetahs are headed home after a historic tournament which saw them claim a first-ever open-play victory in the group stage, ending a 16-match winless run at the tournament.
With his goal to seal the game, Mohamed Salah became the third Egyptian to score 10 AFCON finals goals, joining head coach Hossam Hassan.
Egypt nearly struck in the eighth minute as Mohamed Salah unleashed Omar Marmoush with a beautiful through-ball from his own half. However, Marmoush failed to beat the rushing Marcel Dandjinou one-on-one, who did well to stop what should have been an opening goal for the Pharaohs.
Benin’s first chance of the game came from Junior Olaitan’s 17th minute freekick. The 23-year-old fired a strike from distance towards the Egyptian goal, but his effort made for a routine save for Mohamed El Shenawy.
The Pharaohs missed another chance to take the lead in the 20th minute as Mohamed Hamdi made a run down the left side of the box, crossing into Salah. The Liverpool forward was swamped by defenders and was unable to finish at the near post, and Yohan Roche cleared Marmoush’s follow up in the mouth of the goal.
The Cheetahs suffered a big loss in the 32nd minute as striker Aiyegun Tosin was forced off the pitch due to injury, replaced by Jodel Dossou.
Salah produced another dangerous through-ball in the 36th minute, bypassing the midfield to find Marmoush. However, the Manchester City star was dispossessed on the breakaway by a physical piece of defending from Mohamed Tijani.
The Pharaohs also lost an important member of their starting line-up as Hamdi was stretchered off after a collision with Rodolfo Aloko, injuring his leg as he landed from an aerial challenge. The defender was replaced by Ahmed Abou El Fotouh in stoppage time.
The Cheetahs began the second half in threatening fashion, forcing Hamdy Fathy to race back and intercept a dangerous through-ball in the
Egypt missed a huge chance to go ahead in the 55th minute. The Pharaohs’ corner fell to Rami Rabia in front of goal but his attempt to poke the ball home came off Dandjinou and was blocked from crossing the line by Tamimou Ouorou.
In the 63rd minute, substitute Zizo played a dink over the top of Benin’s defence for Salah, whose chip attempt was read perfectly by Dandjinou, denying the two-time CAF Men’s Player of the Year.
On the other end, The Cheetahs miss an opportunity of their own a minute later. Ouorou played a perfectly weighted ball into the box for Dossou, who was denied from close range by El Shenawy.
Egypt finally broke the deadlock in the 69th minute through a spectacular strike from midfielder Marwan Attia. Mohamed Hany cut the ball back from the byline to the edge of the area and Attia thumped the ball into the top left corner.
Benin struck back in scrappy fashion in the 83rd minute as El Shenawy did well to keep out Olaitan’s cross, which came at the goal. However, he could not get the ball away from his line, allowing Dossou to prod it into the back of the net.
The Pharaohs went back in front in the 97th minute, courtesy of Yasser Ibrahim. Marwan Attia found the defender in the area, who sent a looping header over Dandjinou who, despite his best effort, could not keep the ball out of the net
Salah bagged his 10th AFCON goal in the 124th minute after Benin failed to create anything from a corner, sending Salah on the breakaway, and catching Dandjinou well out of place to score from distance.
Egypt will return to the Stade Adrar on Saturday for their 11th AFCON quarterfinal appearance against either Côte d’Ivoire or Burkina Faso.
Egypt (0) 3 (Attia 69’, Ibrahim 97’, Salah 120+4’)
Benin (0) 1 (Dossou 83’)
Egypt: M. El Shenawy, M. Hany, Y. Ibrahim, R. Rabia, M. Hamdy (A. Fotouh 45+1), M. Attia, H. Fathy, I. Adel (A. Sayed 59’), M. Salah, O. Marmoush (M. Mohamed119’), Trézéguet (E. Ashour 59’).
Benin: M. Dandjinou, Y. Roche (M. Ahlinvi 106’), M. Tijani, O. Verdon, T. Ouorou, H. Imourane (G. Ahoudo 106’), S. D’Almeida (S. Attidjikou 77’), D. Dokou (O. Tessilimi 77’), J. Olaitan, T. Aiyegun (J. Dossou 32’), R. Aloko (R. Amoussou 90+2’)
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Commonwealth Games: Megan Keith claims bronze for Scotland in 5000m infront of 100-year-old grandad
Given Keith herself was a tad surprised she scooped up a medal here, her grandad’s take on the event ought to be a good one.
The 10,000m is her preference, but the longer distance final did not go to plan on Monday and she finished seventh.
The Inverness athlete said she was faced with the ‘can Megan win a medal?’ talk earlier this week, but with that weight of expectation lifted – combined with experience of the home crowd and “the help of two other Scots in the race” – she was freed from the shackles to soar to a classy and courageous run.
“If you look at Monday on paper, that was pretty disappointing,” the 24-year-old added.
“I don’t think you’d put me in the running for a 5km medal since the 10km is normally closer to being my strength, so that definitely helped, the removal of that pressure.
“I think I knew if I felt horrendous and dropped out or fell off the pace again it wouldn’t really matter so I may as well shoot my shot.”
And shoot she did. Biding her time in the middle of the congested pact, Keith made her move with four laps to go, weaving past early pacesetters from Kenya and Uganda.
She was afforded a bit of breathing space with two hurls around the track to go. But as expected, the exceptional Australian duo of Rose Davies – who made it a double gold at these Games with her 10km – and Jessica Hull, the 1500m Olympic silver medallist, entered another gear in the final lap.
While the cameras focused on the tremendous tussle between the pair in the matching yellow vests, the majority of the crowd had their eyes a wee bit further back, bawling at Keith on the final stretch.
She was home safe and sound. And swiftly searching for a saltire.
Once that was draped over her shoulders, and she’d caught up with fellow Scots Eloise Walker and Laura Muir, who finished 15th and 16th respectively, she was darting back around the track – the wrong way, this time – in search of her grandad.
He was eventually found for a quick hug, but a bigger debrief – and the declaration, surely, that this topped any other Scotstoun occasion – is still to be had.
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Commonwealth Games 2026: England netball team beat South Africa to reach semi-finals
England’s netballers reached the Commonwealth Games semi-finals after producing a pulsating comeback to beat South Africa 58-54.
With both sides tied on six points but the Roses ahead of the Proteas on goal average in pool A’s second spot going into the game, England had to avoid defeat to progress.
Elmere van der Berg was in fine form early on to fire South Africa into a six-goal lead at the end of the first quarter with 16 of her nation’s 17 goals, leaving England facing an uphill task.
But some excellent and aggressive defensive work by second-quarter substitute Halimat Adio helped England spring multiple counter-attacks to claw their way back to just 29-28 down at the halfway stage.
The Roses started to take control in the third quarter, opening up a seven-goal lead at one stage before the Proteas netted three times in quick succession to go into the final 15 minutes 43-39 behind.
Both sides then went blow for blow in a compelling final quarter with 15 goals apiece, but 2018 champions England held on to ensure they maintained their record of qualifying for every Commonwealth Games semi-final since the inaugural netball event in 1998.
England will face New Zealand in the last four on Saturday, while South Africa’s wait for a first semi-final since 1998 goes on.
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Fifa World Cup: Uefa to boycott tournament if Gianni Infantino’s investment plans go through
In a statement released after Thursday’s meeting, which was held virtually and chaired by president Aleksander Ceferin, Uefa said it and its 55 member associations “stand as one”.
“We unanimously and unequivocally reject Fifa’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors,” it said.
On Wednesday, Uefa had accused Fifa of using football “to enrich themselves and their friends”.
Its statement on Thursday was even more damning, calling it “irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret” and “without any meaningful consultation” with those who steward the game.
It added: “This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of Fifa’s duty as the custodian of world football.
“National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences.
“This is not a ‘democratic decision’, but governance by intimidation – an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”
While Uefa only accounts for a quarter of Fifa’s membership, it does include most of the world’s most successful teams.
Six of the eight quarter-finalists – including winners Spain – at this summer’s World Cup were European. In the 2022 and 2018 editions, the figures were five and six respectively.
Of the 23 World Cups to have taken place to date, 13 have been won by European countries.
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CK Updates13 hours agoFifa World Cup: Uefa to boycott tournament if Gianni Infantino’s investment plans go through
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CK Updates7 hours agoCommonwealth Games 2026: England netball team beat South Africa to reach semi-finals
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CK Updates19 hours agoStephen Fleming: England appoint former New Zealand captain as Test coach, with Joe Root captain

